Destination marker 到 (dao)

Use the destination marker after a movement verb to show the place reached.

beginnerA1 · TOCFL a1complementgrammar

Pattern

Verb + 到 + place

Key words

Core idea

marks the place reached after a movement verb. The movement verb comes first, then , then the destination.

It is useful with actions such as walking, driving, going, sending, or arriving.

Compare with going to do something

before an action can describe going to do something. after a movement verb focuses on the endpoint reached.

Both can appear in travel sentences, but they answer different questions: purpose versus destination.

Examples

我走到学校。

Wǒ zǒu dào xuéxiào.

I walk to school.

他开车到台北。

Tā kāichē dào Táiběi.

He drives to Taipei.

请送到我家。

Qǐng sòng dào wǒ jiā.

Please deliver it to my home.

Common mistakes

Avoid

我到走学校。

Use

我走到学校。

到 follows the movement verb and introduces the destination.

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